A clutch is a mechanism that controls rotational motion. Clutches are often found in engines and transmissions as a means to control relative rotation of a rotor and a stator. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0159390 to Davis discloses a friction one-way clutch for a transmission. The clutch includes a wedge ring that selectively engages a stator to prevent the stator from rotating in one direction.
Wedge clutches are also used in conjunction with cam phasers for engines. For example, a cam phaser may advance or retard the position of a camshaft relative to the crankshaft of the engine based on the positioning of one or more wedge clutches in order to improve efficiency.
However, it is difficult to control the positioning of a wedge clutch. Hydraulic pressure is often used for this purpose, but is not efficiently utilized in current designs. The present disclosure is directed to overcoming this and other problems of the prior art.